Battle Plans: Kansas City versus Baltimore

Offensive Keys to Victory
1. Ball Control: Although the Kansas City Chiefs rank ninth in total run defense, they haven't faced as tough a test as they will face on Sunday, in Baltimore.

Not only have the Ravens
been fairly dominant running the ball in three games, ranking first in the NFL,
but they have been committed to pounding the ball no matter what how many
defenders are lined up in the box to stop them.

That resolve will have to
stay strong against Kansas City. Even if Lewis and the rest of the Ravens running backs
aren't able to bust loose for more than two-to-three yard gains consistently,
the coaches have to stay patient. The Ravens need to be able to run the ball to
win the time of possession battle, keep the Chiefs out of favorable field
position and to allow Lewis to wear down the Chiefs' front seven by the fourth
quarter, if the score is still tight.

Lewis can manufacture
two-to-three yards on his own by breaking tackles and pushing the pile. If he is
given solid holes to run behind, even a nine-man front won't be able to hold him
in check for an entire game.

2. Staying in Max
Protection: The biggest reason for the Chiefs' successful defensive
turnaround has been the improved play of the defensive line. Vonnie Holliday,
Ryan Simms, John Browning and Eric Hicks form an underrated front four which has
been stout against the run and has created havoc in the backfield. Thus far, the
Chiefs have recorded eight sacks.

The Ravens' offensive line
has been a top notch run blocking unit, but has been inconsistent in pass
blocking situations. This is primarily why the Ravens rarely budge out of their
two-tight end or two-back formations, keeping at least one back or tight end in
to pass block at all times.

The problem that the
offensive line will face this week is not only being able to block the front
four of Kansas
City, but being able
to read their blitz packages. They are going to have to handle both
responsibilities this week if they are to keep Boller's uniform clean.

Chiefs' defensive
coordinator Greg Robinson does a good job of disguising fronts to create
confusion for the offensive lineman and the quarterback.

For example, you may see a
defensive end like Holliday with his hand down, but after the ball is snapped,
he will drop into coverage into a spot where the quarterback's hot route is
supposed to cross. On the next play, all three linebackers could be digging
their noses at the line of scrimmage, showing blitz, but every player up front
besides two defensive lineman drop back into coverage, blocking every window for
the quarterback to pass through.

The safest thing for the
Ravens to do to counteract these plays is to stay in their base two- tight end
set and use max protection to pick up the extra rush. They will be better off
not converting a pass play if the Chiefs drop too many players into coverage,
then giving up a sack incase the Chiefs do bring the house on a blitz. Losing
yardage is not an option in this game.

Plus, by using a power set,
Kyle Boller will always have the option of audibling to a fairly successful
running play. That cannot be said if the Ravens use more one-back spread
formations.

3. Spreading Heap Out: The Ravens were
finally able to get Todd Heap on track last week against the Chargers. Heap
caught five passes for a total of 50 yards, including a 25-yard reception for a
touchdown. All in all, rookie quarterback Kyle Boller looked in Heap's direction
on seven of his 21 pass attempts. That is a good number for the Ravens to stick
to.

Needless to say, either as
a decoy or target, Heap is the Ravens' No.1 option in the passing game. His
ability to line up out of the backfield, in the slot, next to either tackle in a
traditional tight-end stance or as a receiver gives the Ravens a number of ways
to get him the ball.

The best way to use Heap in
this game is to constantly send him in motion so the Chiefs cannot necessarily
use one defender to shadow him at all times. Wherever Heap lines up, the Chiefs
will automatically slide their coverage towards him, which will give receivers
Travis Taylor and Frank Sanders man-to-man coverage to work with on the outside.
Whether or not either wideout is able to exploit these matchups against Chiefs'
cover corners William Bartee, Dexter McCleon and Eric Warfield is another
issue.

Defensive Keys to
Victory

1. Defending the outside rush: There is no
team in the league that runs the ball off tackle as well as
Kansas
City does. The
Chiefs run counters, traps, stretch runs and pitches to the outside against any
defense because no one can stop them.

The Chiefs have one of the
more underrated blocking backs in the league in Tony Richardson. He has the
quickness to meet linebackers head on after the ball is snapped and the strength
to drive them backwards. At both tight end spots, either Tony Gonzalez or Jason Dunn can hold off ends or outside linebackers long enough to allow the lineman
to block downfield and to cut off the backside pursuit.

And all of the Chiefs'
offensive linemen are athletic enough to pull. It does not matter if Willie Roaf, Will Shields, Casey Wiegmann, Brian Watters or John Tait is called open to
anchor a running play in space; they are all more than capable of executing
their blocks. Plus, they can all block their man one-on-one.

For the Ravens, this should
be their biggest problem to deal with up front. Someone needs to force the
double team. If the defensive linemen cannot get off their blocks, the inside
backers will have to take on the Chiefs' interior lineman, which is a mismatch
in Kansas
City's corner.

If the Ravens are able to
slow down the Chiefs' ground attack, the linemen and the linebackers have to be
able to stay on their feet, continue to fight their blocks while moving
laterally and they must take the proper angles while pursuing Holmes. It is
easier said than done.

Another thing the Chiefs
will do frequently, especially in this game, is using the end around play. The
Chiefs use misdirection runs to force defensive ends to make a decision; either
commit to stopping Holmes or stay at home to cover the receiver who is coming
off the corner. Obviously, Holmes is one hell of a decoy, so more times than
not, if the handoff if faked to him and given to a receiver like Dante Hall, he
will have room to roam.

Needless to say, the
outside defenders, especially the linebackers, cannot cheat to stop Holmes,
creating a lane for the receiver to run the ball through. They have to stay with
their original assignments at all times.

2. Red zone Defense: Every time the Chiefs
have gotten the ball in the red zone, they have scored touchdowns. It's been
that easy and that simple for the No.4 ranked offense in
football.

The reason that Kansas
City has been so successful inside of the 20-yard line is they use Priest Holmes
as their go to guy, either as a receiver of as a runner. Holmes has been one of
the more underrated short-yardage backs in the league after being less than
stellar with the Ravens years ago. With his combination of deceptive strength
and speed, Holmes is able to routinely gain yardage after
contact.

Raven defenders haven't
finished off their tackles consistently this season, so holding Holmes and the
rest of Kansas
City's offensive
playmakers to minimal YAC won't be easy.

Getting back to the red
zone defense, the Ravens must force the Chiefs to score field goals as much as
possible. It's bad enough that the Chiefs have a strong return game which sets
up great field position for their offense, but most of the time the offense does
not need any help.

Even if the Chiefs are able
to move the ball up and down the field against Baltimore, if they can't cash that production into touchdowns,
the game will stay close throughout. To be successful in holding KC in check,
the run defense must be stout and Gonzalez must be covered, forcing the Chiefs'
wideouts to make a play.

3. Being Physical: To put it simply, the
Ravens have to be mean and nasty on Sunday. Every time Holmes catches the ball
out of the backfield, a safety or a linebacker needs to lay the lumber on him.
The Chiefs' receivers can't feel comfortable catching passes over the middle of
the field. The corners and safeties need to pulverize anybody who catches a pass
in front of him.

If the pass rushers up front get any
opportunities to tackle quarterback Trent Green, they have to make their hits
count.

The Ravens won't win this
game if they allow Kansas City's offense to play Frisbee ball. If the defense can
punish the Chiefs' skill players, they may be able to wear them down mentally
and physically by the end of the game.

Like Heap, Gonzalez won't
line up in one spot on every play. He'll be shifted all over the field so that
Trent Green can exploit mismatches in the passing game. Still, it would make
sense for Ravens' defensive coordinator Mike Nolan to try and shadow Gonzalez
using strong safety Gary Baxter. Baxter has a long wingspan to extend his
coverage on deep passes. He also has the speed to stay with wideouts or tight
ends down the field and the size to press them at the line of scrimmage. Subbing
for Chris McAlister last week, Baxter played cornerback and did an admirable job
of defending David Boston, who has the physical dimensions of a tight-end.

Taking Gonzalez out of this
game is a must for the Ravens and for the first time in a while, they may have
the perfect defensive back with the right combination of skills to get the job
done.